Treasure

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈtɹɛʒə/

Definitions

1. A valuable or precious collection of things such as money, jewels, or artifacts, or something that is highly valued or greatly appreciated
2. A collection of precious items like gold or jewels, or anything considered highly valuable and cherished
3. Something of great worth, whether monetary wealth and riches or a deeply valued person or possession

Etymology: The English word "treasure" arrived by a long route that began with a Greek word for a storehouse. Ancient Greek "thēsaurós" meant "treasure house," and the Romans borrowed it as "thēsaurus," which kept the sense of a place where valuables were kept. Old French turned it into "tresor," meaning "treasury," and Middle English then took that form as "tresour." The change in meaning, from the building to the wealth stored inside, happened along the way, so the word began as a container and ended as the contents. Before it spread, English had its own words for such riches. Old English speakers used "goldhord," a gold hoard, and "gestrēon," a word for gained wealth. French "tresor" largely pushed these aside, so most of the old native vocabulary for hoarded valuables has faded from everyday speech. The word has a twin in English: "thesaurus," which came straight from the same Greek and Latin root. Both words descend from the idea of a store, but one kept the sense of a storehouse of words while the other became a word for precious things.

Synonyms: valuables, riches, wealth, assets, booty

Antonyms: worthlessness, poverty, debt, liability, loss